New Morton's chief exec facing tough times

Christopher Artinian of Glen Head was able to stand the heat in the kitchen when he began as a pantry helper at Morton's The Steakhouse in Manhattan 15 years ago, and he even chopped through the company's executive ranks.

But can Artinian withstand the fire now that he has been appointed chief executive and president of Morton's Restaurant Group Inc.?

Artinian, 40, was named to the positions earlier this month, at a time when the high-priced restaurant company is suffering losses and declines in revenue and is closing eateries as it battles through the country's worst recession in decades. Artinian's immediate predecessor, Thomas Baldwin, resigned after Morton's latest disappointing earnings report.

"I bleed Morton's blood," Artinian said in an interview Friday in Chicago. "I understand who we are and what we have to do. At the end of the day, we're running a restaurant. What we have to do is continue the absolute dedication to who we are and to our brand name."

Morton's closed seven restaurants in 2009 and now has 76, including one in Great Neck. The 31-year-old company was headquartered in New Hyde Park until 2006. It is now headquartered in Chicago.

Artinian ate in a Morton's for the first time in Philadelphia in 1989 and was impressed. Six years later, when he was trying to decide on a career, he ate at another Morton's, this time in Manhattan

. His family was acquainted with Allen J. Bernstein, then Morton's chairman. Impressed again, Artinian wrote to Bernstein inquiring about a position and wound up slicing onions and salads at the Manhattan location. He worked at different Morton's restaurants elsewhere in the country and was most recently vice president of East Coast operations.

His salad days behind him, Artinian must now serve up a dish that will make Wall Street and Morton's board members lick their chops.

"We have a strong belief in our system and our culture," Artinian said. "We see light at the end of the tunnel."